What is a Chazzed Banger?

Proper care and routine cleaning help keep a dab rig and its quartz banger, or nail, in adequate condition. These essential steps also enhance the dabbing experience and improve safety.

Maintaining the banger is especially important. If it is not well-maintained, both the device and the experiences it generates may turn out to be less than ideal due to a build-up of burned-on resin known as chazzing, which leads to a "chazzed banger." 

What is a Banger?

A banger, or a nail, is a dish-shaped attachment made of glass, quartz, titanium, or ceramic. The bowl is attached to the dab rig and then heated. Once warmed to its ideal temperature, the concentrated oil is placed onto the nail, which the consumer vaporizes and inhales. This process often creates a near-immediate high once inhaled, though everyone’s experience varies.

What is a Chazzed Banger?

The term 'chazzed' is slang that may come from the word 'charred.' It’s commonly used to describe a burnt or damaged banger. Chazzing happens when cannabis concentrates are heated at excessively high temperatures.  After a dab session, the banger almost always remains covered in residue. If not cleaned, the oil will dry inside the nail. 

The accumulation of old oil is bad enough, as it muddles the flavor, smell, and effects of future dabs. The blasting of the oil numerous times, especially at high temperatures, can also result in a blackened, gunked-up banger that eventually can clog airflow and reduce performance. This is chazzing.  

Quartz bangers are popular for their clean flavor, high heat tolerance, and fast heating. However, they can also be more prone to visible damage if overheated. When exposed to too much heat or improperly cleaned between uses, quartz can quickly go from clear and breathable to black and closed shut.

To avoid chazzing, be aware of three key components:

• High Temperatures: Frequently heating the banger until it glows red-hot.
• Immediate Reheating: Repeatedly reheating the nail without allowing proper cooldown or cleaning.
• Neglected Cleaning: Not cleaning after each use can cause the residue to harden.

No matter how it happens, chazzing creates a burnt, crusty resin layer in the bowl. If left unclean, the buildup will increase. As it does, cleaning becomes increasingly difficult. Meanwhile, the quality of future dabs diminishes as the device goes uncleaned. 

When Should You Clean Your Dab Rig?

Dab rigs and their banger attachments should be cleaned immediately after each use. This helps prevent resin from solidifying and sticking permanently. Rapid cleaning also helps keep the quartz glass clear and transparent.

At professional cannabis consumption events, tables offering dabs always have an attendant with Q-tips and alcohol wipes swabbing down the nail and mouthpiece between each hit. 

It might seem excessive that cleaning has to take place right after dabbing, but it’s the truth. Even waiting just a few minutes can allow the residue to cool and harden. Once the oil has dried and solidified, cleaning and removing the extracts becomes much more difficult. Blasting that dried residue with more heat only increases the chances of chazzing. 

How to Clean a Dab Rig and Chazzed Nail

To avoid chazzing a nail, implement one or both of the options below:

Routine Cleaning

Once it has cooled enough to touch, but is still warm, wipe the lingering residue from the banger with a cotton swab. Use tweezers to retrieve any remaining pieces or hard-to-remove particles. 

Complete this step right after dabbing, while the banger is still warm (but not hot enough to burn). Doing so right after dabbing helps keep the cleaning effort easy while avoiding buildups. 

Deep Cleaning

1. Alcohol and Salt Soak: Combine a high-percentage isopropyl alcohol (91%+) with coarse salt. Place the mixture in a Ziploc bag with the chazzed banger. Soak the piece for several hours or overnight.
2. Scrape and Rinse: After soaking, gently remove any remaining residue with a scraper tool. Then, rinse the piece thoroughly with warm water to remove lingering pieces and/or alcohol traces.

Note: If alcohol is unavailable, white vinegar and coarse salt can be a viable replacement.

Can You Still Use a Chazzed Banger?

A chazzed banger can still work, up until a certain point. However, even when operational, it’s not the ideal method, as the dab experience will likely be far from ideal. Meanwhile, each dab performed on a chazzed banger increases the likelihood of the device failing to operate optimally. 

Dabbing from a chazzed banger may produce harsh vapor and unpleasant flavors. Repeated exposure to burnt residue could irritate the throat or lungs, especially in sensitive individuals.

How to Fix Chazzing

Cleaning the nail after each use is the best way to avoid developing a chazzed banger, and deep cleaning is the only way to repair the problem if this unwanted effect occurs. 

Best Types of Bangers to Avoid Chazzing

Quartz remains the preferred material for bangers, due to its heat retention and durability. Electronic nails (e-nails) offer more precision, including temperature control, which helps reduce the risk of chazzing. Still, cleaning after each use is recommended to avoid chazzing altogether. 

Preventing Chazzing

In addition to regular cleaning and maintenance, dabbing best practices help avoid a nail from becoming burnt or built up. When it comes to burning or charring pieces, consider the following two dabbing tips to avoid such an outcome:

• Low-Temperature Dabs: Keep dabbing temperatures between 500-650°F. This typically helps avoid banger burns and keeps the concentrated oil in a vapor form. Once heated past vapor, it can become combustible, leading to contaminant inhalation.
• Cold Start Dabs: Place the concentrate onto a cold banger first. Then, gradually heat until vaporization occurs. 

Can You Get Sick from a Chazzed Banger?

Yes, consuming from any unclean device or vessel could result in short- or long-term irritation or sickness.¹ Using a dirty rig may produce harsh vapor and expose you to unwanted residue or buildup. Keeping it clean helps support a more comfortable and consistent experience.

Rather than risk it, consumers are advised to regularly clean their nails and to use low temperatures to avoid oil combustion. 

Do Chazzed Bangers Deliver More THC?

No. A chazzed banger may actually diminish the quality and potency of the THC. When concentrated oil is blasted at high temperatures, the torched components can lose critical terpenes and cannabinoids that shape the oil's effect, aroma, and flavor. 

While burning oil can create a loss of flavor and smell, some concentrates may already be without them. This is due to the extraction process utilized to make the concentrate. For example, most solvent-based extraction, like distillate, strips the plant of its terpenes. 

Can You Reclaim Resin from a Chazzed Banger?

It is possible to reclaim chazzed banger resin. That said, it’s likely to be a vaping experience to remember in the worst way. Vaping this sort of reclaim is expected to result in unpleasant charred flavors, burning smells, and exposure to degraded quality oil. 

Can CBD Wax Chazz a Banger?

Yes, it’s not just THC that causes chazzing. Any cannabis concentrate, be it CBD wax or any other concentrated oil, can cause chazzing. If any type of oil becomes overheated or the rig is improperly cleaned, chazzing can occur. 

References

1. Dogra R, Dogra V, Badyal H, Avasthi S. Hot Dab Associated Pneumonitis - a case report. BMC Pulmonary Medicine. 2024;24(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-024-03255-8 ↩︎

The information in this article and any included images or charts are for educational purposes only. This information is neither a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional legal advice or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about laws, regulations, or your health, you should always consult with an attorney, physician or other licensed professional.